Saltwater Burial

Men were careful

The sea was beautiful

Men were careful

Because they wanted to be—

Fruits on the other shores,

Ladies and babies

The touch of some sickness

Holy mothers' sweet callings

But the creatures were wild

Vivid, rarely mild

Torso of a deity

Tail of a fiend

One of them more enchanted

Than the rest of her tribe

Hair roared,

Dainty pipes swore

A tale of bittersweet delight

And promises of war

Men should be careful

The mermaid was just curious

The sailors took only a part of her heart

Enough to turn the sea furious

The heart dissolved in the foam of its home

But the remnants of men never

Touched their beloved shores:

Saltwater burial

Sad and surreal

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© Sheena Shah. All Rights Reserved.